Newsweek called the SS United States, which was a luxury liner from 1952 to 1969, the "Fastest, Toughest and Most Beautiful" in a 1952 cover story.

By Rick Hampson, USA TODAY

The SS United States, America's greatest ocean liner and the fastest ship of its kind ever to cross the Atlantic, is in "imminent danger" of being sold and ripped up for scrap, according to a preservation group.

The SS United States Conservancy says Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), which owns the mothballed ship, has set a deadline this month for bids from buyers and could sell it soon to a scrapper.

"This is it," says Dan McSweeney, conservancy director. "We could lose this symbol of the United States."

In a statement, NCL says it is looking for "a suitable buyer." Asked whether that definition includes scrappers, AnneMarie Mathews of NCL says it means any "U.S. entity that has the funds to purchase the ship."

Peter Knego, an ocean liner historian, says almost all such vessels eventually are scrapped: "NCL will be vilified for this, but it's the natural order of things." He says a scrapper is the only likely buyer.

The rusting, gutted liner, which made its last commercial voyage in 1969, has been docked in Philadelphia since 1996. NCL says insurance, maintenance and dockage fees cost $800,000 a year.

The line bought the ship in 2003, hoping to refit it for its Hawaii cruise business. That venture began to lose money, and the United States stayed put.

When NCL listed the vessel for sale a year ago, it offered it first to the conservancy. But McSweeney says his group does not have $1.5 million to buy it and has not found a buyer willing to preserve it.

The ship's listing on the National Register of Historic Places confers little protection, according to Frank DeGiulio, an admiralty lawyer working with the conservancy. He says Pennsylvania's preservation law might hamper an attempt to move the ship from state waters.

The conservancy hopes to temporarily rescue the vessel through a public subscription drive like the one that helped save the USS Constitution ("Old Ironsides") in the 1920s.

McSweeney says his group needs about $3 million to buy the ship and maintain it for two years. Meanwhile, a public-private partnership would be established to raise hundreds of millions to refit the ship, possibly as a hotel, museum, conference center or casino. "Bottom line: We need a sugar daddy if we're going to save this ship," DeGiulio says. Knego calls that "a real long shot."

When launched in 1952, the sleek, streamlined United States was a symbol of post-war American primacy and a Cold War weapon. The government, which wanted a way to ferry troops quickly to Europe, paid two-thirds of its $70 million cost.

On its maiden voyage, the liner went from New York to England in three days, 10 hours and 40 minutes. It cruised far below its top speed (which was classified) — and still broke the Queen Mary's 14-year-old record by 10 hours.

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